A couple of months ago, I shared a project where I took a World Market potting bench and turned it into an outdoor bar. Today I wanted to share how we created an easy outdoor buffet table using a side table. But first, here’s the bar:
Our potting bench turned outdoor bar has been great for us and we have used it a lot this summer for entertaining. We realized that we needed another piece that we could use for serving food. So I purchased the matching side table piece to the potting bench from World Market and turned it into an outdoor buffet for serving food:
The side table was from the Laguna Outdoor Furniture Collection from World Market and the bad news is that the side table is apparently no longer available on the World Market website. I am emailing the company to see if they have plans to bring it back but in the meantime, they may still have them in the stores. The good news is that the potting bench is still available and could also be used for serving food (and drinks) and you can find it here.
The other good news is that I have seen outdoor tables like this side table from several different stores that sell outdoor furniture like Lowe’s and Target. So, if you like this idea, you may want to check those places for an outdoor side table. If your patio area is covered, you could also consider using an indoor side table as well and you can find those almost anywhere. I have also seen smaller outdoor bars sold in stores that would also work well for an outdoor buffet.
Turning a small side table into a food buffet is easy to do with the metal tiered serving pieces that allow you to stack multiple layers of plates to serve food but they take up minimal space:
I’m just showing pictures from when I served appetizers but with the tiered serving pieces, I have been able to serve dinner as well. I just placed the plates stacked to the side and used the tiered pieces for burgers and hot dogs and I added baskets for buns. I stacked bags of chips below as well. It’s a great way to create an outdoor buffet with minimal space. By the way, you can pick up those tiered serving pieces at Marshalls, Home Goods or Ross.
If you’re looking for more unique ways to entertain or decorate outdoors, you may want to check out my Friday Favorites post that I shared some of my favorite summer outdoor ideas:
I know that summer is coming close to an end but this is a great time to think about decorating your porches and patios because all of the outdoor furniture is on sale right now! I have seen some amazing deals at Target, World Market and Lowe’s if you’re looking for great deals on outdoor furniture.
I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend and I’ll be back next week with a fun project.
Cheers!
Cyndy
Kristin says
Love this idea. Bought the potting table at World Market to make the drink station and wished World Market still had the side table so I could copy that too! 🙂 I guess I now am on the hunt for something similar. Thanks for such great inspiration.
Cyndy says
Thank you Kristin!! I’m emailing my contact at World Market to see if they have any or have plans to order more. The whole collection is so beautiful but not expensive and this table is ideal for many uses, so I hope they are just temporarily out of them. I’ll let you know what they tell me. Thanks again Kristin!
Cecilia says
What a neat idea. I love how you repurposed both pieces! Thanks for sharing.
James says
Really great idea! Have you heard anything back yet about the cocktail table? Its the one piece we are missing.
louise says
I love this! I’ve been meaning to do this for, oh, I don’t know… 2 years! Love it!
Cindy says
just found this website and perfect idea for potting bench turned bar. World Market no longer carries or out of season, bummer. Do you know of other stores who might carry? Just love this idea! Thanks.
Cyndy says
Thank you Cindy! I don’t know of another store carrying that specific potting bench but I would wait and see if World Market comes out with it again in a month or two or spring. Wouldn’t surprise me! Good luck!
DD says
Hi Cyndy-
World Market has the side table you use as a buffet! It’s called a “console table” and is currently in the 2013 Laguna Collection, priced at $139.99. I bought the gray potting bench last year, marked down to $70 and will be purchasing the coordinating console table very soon!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Brenda says
Hey Cyndy! I wanted to give you and your readers a heads up….I just purchased this exact outdoor console table on eBay today. There are only 2 left selling for $212. I have looked and looked for this ever since I saw yours and I’m so excited to finally have it!